Mini-car Did you know that 87 percent of US commuters travel less than 18 miles to work, mostly alone? The Sparrow knows. A hybrid car-motorcycle, this shiny six-foot mutant can reach 60mph and runs "40-60 miles" between charges. (That 20-mile "maybe" would unsettle me just a tad.) The Sparrow comes in glossy jewel tones, carries a single passenger and runs on a DC motor powered by 13 sealed lead acid cell batteries that last up to five years. You can recharge it in six hours on house current. Register it as a motorcycle while the DMV folks scratch their heads. According to an alert Earth Islander, it currently runs about $9K. No word on what the highway patrol thinks of it. [Corbin-Pacific, Inc., 2360 Technology Parkway, Hollister, CA 95023; <www.ev-sparrow.com> (831) 634-1100]

2-Liter mattress The Ultra-Cel Sleep System layers resilient, durable and "lofty" Foamex urethane (no CFCs) atop a WellspringŪ recycled fiber base. This cotton-like inside stuff comes from recycled 2-liter soda bottles, filling futons since 1991. (They melt them down first, silly!) The whole thing is said to be incredibly comfy. [Rising Star; Contact Kurtz: (800) 828-6711; <www.foamex.com>]

High on hemp, but not that way Essential amino and fatty acids abound in hemp seed oil. The Alterna Company, which produces nourishing hemp hair care products, is educating young people about the vast environmental and economic benefits of THC-free hemp. Unlike decaf coffee and alcohol-free beer or wine, you don't imbibe the stuff. You wear it, or wash in it. (The center section of the Winter-Spring '99 Earth Island Journal was printed on it.) Alterna is offering a San Francisco high school student a scholarship for the winning essay on industrial hemp [Contact Kimberlee Mitchell, (888) 4-Alterna, ext. 258 for contest details. Alterna Enzymetherapy, 10877 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024]

Crabby teachers One remaining commercially-viable species that is holding its own despite the environmental degradation of the Chesapeake Bay is the blue crab, renowned for Maryland's steamed crab orgies and gourmet crab cakes. The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center of Edgewater, MD monitors crab behavior through shell-mounted biotelemetry devices, and shares its research in "Tales of the Blue Crab," told through school presentations, public shopping mall exhibits and on its web site <www.serc.si.edu>. Learning the secrets of the blue crab's survival may help preserve Chesapeake Bay denizens, from the crabs to the humans who sometimes feast upon them. [Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560; (202) 357-2627]

Captives freed Illinois' Land O'Lorin Zoo, shut down after its owner was arrested for hiring a hit man, contained many abused and neglected animals, both wild and domesticated, now en route to sanctuaries in Kentucky and Texas. The incarcerated owner granted power of attorney to a friend, who called Illinois Animal Action to the rescue. An isolated baboon will now find baboon companions and a naturalistic enclosure while an otter, a porcupine, and a pig are being relocated and a bobcat, a snow macaque, and an Arctic fox thrive in new homes. [Illinois Animal Action, Inc., P.O. Box 507, Warrenville, IL 80555; fax: (630) 393-2941]

Greening dry cleaning Dry cleaning-as-usual employs the solvent perchloroethylene (perc), which can lead to cancer, memory loss and reproductive problems. An better way, using carbon dioxide, has been invented by Micell Technologies, which launched a flagship Raleigh, NC, shop in February. Its patented detergents and liquid carbon dioxide are recyclable. According to David deRosa of the Greenpeace Solvent Solutions project, this proves "the days of Perc's use in this market are numbered." [Hangers Cleaners, 7516 Precision Drive, Raleigh, NC 27613, Contact: Kathy Leonard, (314) 727-1070]

Trash-chic These t-shirts sporting postmodern "recycle!" graphics or your own custom logos are something special: They use reclaimed cotton or soda bottles. Nearly half of all cotton is wasted during processing. A quarter of all pesticides and fertilizers used in the US is dumped onto cotton fields. RTC rescues cotton "waste" and turns it into snazzy duds. [Recycled Trash Co., 437 South Highway 101, Suite 780, Solana Beach, CA 92075, (800) 53T-RASH, <recycletrash@earthlink.net>].

Who cares? The business magazine for social entrepreneurs, Who Cares, is offering free one-year trial subscriptions. This magazine is a storehouse of information to help those who create, grow or manage organizations which benefit the common good. [Call (800) 628-1692 x5 for a free subscription.]

Chlorine-free logo The Chlorine-Free Products Association (CFPA) announces that a Quebec paper mill, the Rolland company, has won chlorine-free processing certification for its New Life DP 100 product line, the first mill in Canada to be so certified. Chlorine compounds, including dioxins produced while bleaching pulp, are associated with many adverse immune system and reproductive effects in humans and animals. [Chlorine-Free Products Association, 19 N. Main St., Algonquin, IL 60102, fax (847) 658-3152]

Pure cotton tampons and pads The average American woman will use thousands of tampons during her life. Tampons can be hazardous to your health, however, and not only due to toxic shock syndrome. Dioxin, created when chlorine is used in bleaching rayon (wood pulp) fibers, is found in most brands. This may be reason enough to look for an alternative.

Tambrands is marketing Tampax Naturals, a tampon variety purported to be 100 percent cotton. [Though see a previous item for risks of cotton.] And now there is the Natracare line of tampons and pads, whitened with hydrogen peroxide, found in health food stores. [Natracare, LLC, 191 University Blvd., Suite 294, Denver, CO 80206. <www.indra.com/natracare>]

Changing perceptions Skipping Stones is celebrating its eleventh year of publication. The journal has culturally and ecologically rich content for kids 8-16, art and writing from around the world, features on and by multi-cultural kids, book awards, and parent-teacher guides. Five issues per year; subscription $25. [Skipping Stones, P.O. Box 3939, Eugene, OR 97403 <skipping@efn.org>] - SRS

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E-mail Sharon Skolnick at <sskolnick@earthisland.org>.